Lansford revives holiday traditions

Santa Claus greets children below from a rooftop

By ANDREW LEIBENGUTH aleibenguth@tnonline.com

A Christmas tradition returned to Lansford Saturday morning during the town's first annual Days of Christmas event.

Santa Claus, arriving on a fire truck, used the ladder to scale to the top of the old Bright's Department Store, now known as the Lansford Mini Mall. Years ago, Bright's held a Christmas-time promotion which included Santa arriving and waving to cheering children below.

Organizers said a similar event was last held in the mid to late 1970s. Following Santa's arrival, children were treated to free gifts and photos with Santa inside the mall. Bob Silver, vice president, Lansford Alive, thanked the Lansford Fire Company, Lansford police, fellow Lansford Alive volunteers and the Lansford Improvement Committee for putting the program together.

"Lansford Alive decided to organize the event to help revitalize while running a long-remembered promotion inspired by that old time event," said David Benevy, secretary, Lansford Alive. Organizers said that the photos taken, free of charge, will be available for pickup at the Mini Mall, in the Valley Athletic Store, anytime after 3 p.m. today.

Another tradition that was revived was the annual holiday drawing. Back in the day, Bright's Department store ran another Christmas promotion, which included a drawing for a new car. This year, tickets were given out to all attending families for a chance to win cash prizes with participation of 18 Lansford merchants.

The drawing for the prizes will be held Dec. 17 at 1 p.m. in front of the mini mall on West Ridge Street. Entries will be drawn and the ticket number announced. A total of $1,000 in cash prizes will be awarded, with the top prize being $500 and additional prizes of $250, $100, $100 and $50 for a total of 5 prizes.